I'm still new to the whole allergy-thing and today I encountered a new challenge with my shellfish allergy.

Usually my normal precautions are sufficient at work to keep me safe from my shellfish allergy. We have a hodge podge of communal mugs, plates and silver ware in our staff kitchen, but I purchased my own plate and silverware and I clean it thoroughly and keep it in my work locker so that I am positive I am the only person who uses it.

If I bring food to work to store in the communal refridgerator, I make sure it is in an airtight contain and also wrapped in plastic or a plastic bag.

Today, being Good Friday and working with several Catholics who abstain from meat, I went to heat my lunch in the microwave and as I opened the microwave, I could smell that someone had used the microwave to heat shrimp. I was just able to smell the shrimp and was repulsed. I ended up snacking on some spare snacks that I always keep on hand and decided against heating my food in the microwave where a coworker had obviously heated something with shrimp.

Does anyone have suggestions on how to handle this? Do I say something? Is the onus on me to make sure I have food that doesn't require heating? How do other adults with food allergies keep their food safe in such an environment like work where there is a communal fridge and microwave for staff? Furthermore, the smell of shrimp might be gone by Monday, but can I still safely heat my food in the microwave?

Am I taking enough precaution with how I wrap and secure my food for storage in the fridge? Tips? Suggestions?

I think when anything is shared it is simply too risky to trust others to keep it safe for an allergic individual. If it were me I would bring everything ready to eat out of the container, possibly with disposable utensils. I would probably try to avoid the fridge as well, pack a small cooler bag with an ice pack (or frozen juice box) and keep your food at your work station.

I too would suggest bringing your food ready to eat. You could buy a good thermos and that way be able to bring hot lunches still. Since the staff room microwave is there for everyone and you never could be sure (even if it didn't still smell) of what was heated up. A lunch bag with a cooler pack would in my opinion be the safest way to go. No concerns about cross contamination.
Good luck!

For our daughter's lunch (school) we use an upright zipper up lunch bag ...the kind of bag that sits up and doesn't lie down flat. We bought her a thermos and then those freezer packs you can find in the lunch bag section or the camping section. I put her drink in a container and sit the freezer pack beside it (and any yogurt etc.). Then in the thermos I put her lunch, she likes hot lunch so anything left over from the night before to soup etc. she likes to take to eat. I even put burger patties (fit cut in 1/2) or hot dogs in the thermos and then send along a bun and condiments.

Those lunch boxes Gwen posted look amazing. I like section so if you have different foods they don't all get mushed together.

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